Antique quilts turn into Paducah scholarships

Quilt Week in Paducah has quite a few "must sees" besides the show. One of my favorites is the local Rotary Club hanging a collection of antique quilts, with the admission fees going to their scholarship and educational programs fund. The Rotary Education Assistance Program (REAP) has raised over $750,000 since 1989.

Check that Tuesday afternoon sky! When we got back to the motel, the desk clerk told us not to worry about the message light flashing on the phone...it was "only" a tornado alert!
But when there are quilts to see, who cares about the weather?
The display was curated by Sue Reich, and titled"A Quilted Garden: The Beauty of Flowers & Gardens in Quiltmaking".


Medallion Tulip Applique c.1930

This one was hand and machine appliqued, for those who think only "real quilts are made totally by hand".
But then, I doubt anyone who really believes that is reading this blog!

Whole cloth quilt c. 1830

I love to see this sort of fabric...not what I would use today, but that's not the point. You can really appreciate why it was a whole cloth quilt (too beautiful to cut up???). But if you only had a yard, what a broiderie perse you could make by cutting out all the motifs and creating your own scene!

These birds look awfully familiar...I'll have to see if they appear in any previous years' photos!

Red and Green Applique Quilt c. 1860

I hope I have this one right, as I neglected to mark my info sheet! But here we have the ultimate "dinner plate flowers" just for Cherry-Cherry. The quilt has nine blocks so each flower must be at least 20". Check out the quilting inside the flowers. Hmmmmmm....this detail shot would make a good idea for a fabric postcard!

Redwork Penny Square Quilt c. 1900

This is an unusual redwork quilt. It appears to have been made with designs printed 9 to a piece of fabric, but not cut into smaller squares. There are several of the same "design sheets" used in the quilt.

Garden Bouquet c.1930
Nancy Page design

Something a little different for hexagon fans. It's great to be inspired by vintage quilts...this would be cute made with yo-yo flowers, should you be so obsessed.
For those who are learning about quilt documentation, the triangles are the classic 30's color Nile Green.

The National State Flower Quilt c. 1933

This is one of two state flower quilts done with embroidery. Those are the Ohio carnations at the top of the picture. Don't you love that llittle star in the border? I think it was also embroidered.

This is from a vendor's booth (shame on me for not noting which one!). The Rotary show is definitely the place to look for antique quilts and blocks if you are collecting. And in a way, it's comforting to see so many blocks and tops, establishing the UFO as a true Quilting Tradition!
The reason I took this picture is that the sashing has what looks like floating squares on point...another wonderful inspiration, especially if you wanted a very wide sashing to make a quilt bigger (generally not a recomended proceedure!) or to set off some big plain blocks featuring lots of quilting.  Upon closer viewing, I saw that there were formerly green squares alternating with the red ones! Fantastic! I love it either way.

Last, but never least, the Rotary show always has one of the traveling Hoffman Challenge exhibits (they are broken into several collections each year). It's fun to see what people have done with the fabric and get a peek at next year's print.

When we meet again, we'll make a visit to Caryl Bryer Fallert's studio, the Bryerpatch.